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Once again, stunned civilians were the victims, though US Ambassador John Bass in his condemnation of the attack said "members of security forces" were among the dead.

"I don't know who brought us to the hospital and how," said one of the wounded, Nezamuddin Khan, who was knocked unconscious and woke up in a local hospital.

The explosion at the checkpoint, which has been targeted in the past, follows a Taliban attack against a foreign compound late on Monday that killed at least 16 people and wounded more than 100, almost all of them local civilians.

Hours later, the Taliban claimed responsibility for a car bombing outside an Afghan military base in the Logar provincial capital, Puli Alam, which houses members of the Afghan special forces. Provincial council chief Haseebullah Stanekzai said a small number of international forces also had been in the area.Governor Anwar Khan Es-Haqzai said four civilians were killed and four others wounded.

US-Taliban peace deal

US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has been in Kabul this week briefing Ghani and other Afghan leaders on the US-Taliban deal to end nearly 18 years of fighting, which he says only needs US President Donald Trump's approval to become a reality.

Khalilzad has not commented publicly on this week's attacks.

The Afghan government has raised serious concerns about the deal, including in new comments on Thursday as the latest attack occurred.

"Afghans have been bitten by this snake before," Omer said, recalling past agreements from which, like now, the Afghan government has been sidelined. "Where there is no feeling of ownership there is no safety," he said.

The Taliban, at their strongest since their 2001 defeat by a US-led invasion, has refused to negotiate with the government, calling it a US puppet.

Source: Reuters

Original Link: https://www.trtworld.com/asia/kabul-attack-kills-10-afghan-civilians-and-two-foreign-soldiers-29539